Settings
Settings lets you customize the app’s appearance, editor behavior, navigation layout, and R session. It also provides help resources and diagnostic tools.
What you are seeing above:
- Appearance: theme, fonts, plot graphics, and sound
- Editor: auto-indent, line numbers, and current-line highlighting
- Layout: choose between Tab Bar, Sidebar, or 4-Pane Workspace (iPad)
- R Session: package restoration, workspace saving, and memory management
- Help & Resources: tutorial replay, keyboard shortcuts, iCloud sync, and external links
- About & Support: version info, feedback form, and diagnostic logs
Appearance
Pick a theme, tune font sizes, set plot resolution, and toggle sound effects. Changes take effect immediately, no restart needed.
Theme
| Setting | Options | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Theme | System, Light, Dark | Follows your device setting, or force light/dark. |
| Editor Theme | Default, Dracula, Solarized Light, Solarized Dark, Monokai, One Dark, GitHub Light, Nord | Syntax highlighting color scheme for the code editor. |
| Plot Background | System, White, Light Gray, Dark Gray, Transparent | Background color behind generated plots. System uses white in light mode and dark gray in dark mode. |
Fonts
| Setting | Options | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Editor Font | Small (12pt), Medium (14pt), Large (16pt), Extra Large (18pt) | Text size in the code editor. |
| Console Font | Small (12pt), Medium (14pt), Large (16pt), Extra Large (18pt) | Text size in the console output. |
| Editor Zoom | 50% to 200% | Fine-grained zoom control for the editor. A Reset button appears when zoom is not at 100%. |
Graphics
| Setting | Options | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Plot Size | Small (400px), Medium (504px), Large (800px), Extra Large (1200px) | Resolution of generated plots. Higher values produce sharper plots but use more memory. |
Sound
| Setting | Options | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sound Effects | On / Off | Audio feedback for actions like running code. |
Editor
These three toggles control how the code editor looks and behaves when you type or paste code.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Auto-Indent on Paste | Reformats pasted code to match your current indentation level. Useful when copying code from the web that has inconsistent indentation. |
| Show Line Numbers | Displays line numbers in the left gutter. |
| Highlight Current Line | Adds a subtle background highlight to the cursor’s line. Helps you track your position in longer scripts. |
Layout
Layout controls how you navigate between the Console, Editor, Plots, and other sections. All three modes are available on both iPhone and iPad, each offering a different balance of screen space and quick access.
Tab Bar
The default navigation mode. A row of tab icons along the bottom edge gives single-tap access to every section. Each tab shows a full-screen view, maximizing the space for whichever pane you are working in.
Sidebar Navigation
A split view with a collapsible sidebar on the left and a detail pane on the right. The sidebar groups tabs into sections — Workspace, Files, Reference, and Settings — giving you quick access to everything without switching tabs. On iPad in landscape, the sidebar sits alongside the content permanently; in portrait, it overlays the content and can be dismissed with a tap.
4-Pane Workspace
A 4-pane exploration layout that shows four resizable panes simultaneously — Editor and Console on the left, Environment and a tabbed pane (Plots, Files, Packages, Help) on the right. Tap the gear icon in the Environment pane header to open Settings. This mode works best on iPad in landscape where there is enough screen space for all four panes.
Drag the dividers between panes to resize them; positions are saved between sessions. Each divider can move within its allowed range (30–70% horizontal, 20–80% vertical).
Landscape vs. Portrait
Each layout adapts to the screen orientation. On iPad, the screenshots below show portrait (left) and landscape (right) side by side.
4-Pane Workspace
Sidebar Navigation
Tab Bar
4-Pane Workspace
Sidebar Navigation
Tab Bar
On iPad, try 4-Pane Workspace in landscape and Sidebar Navigation in portrait. On iPhone, experiment with all three modes to find your favourite.
R Session
Controls for the R engine: package restoration on startup, workspace saving, and memory management. This is where you go when you need to restart R or free up memory.
Packages
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Restore on Startup | Automatically restores your installed packages when the app launches, even offline. |
| Saved Packages | Shows how many packages are saved locally. Expand to see the list. |
| Clear Package Cache | Removes all saved packages. You will need to reinstall them next time. |
Workspace
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Save Workspace | Saves your R variables and data when the app closes and restores them on next launch. Like .RData in desktop R. |
Environment
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Memory Used | Current memory usage of your R session. |
| Refresh Memory Info | Updates the memory display. |
| Run Garbage Collection | Frees memory by cleaning unused R objects. Try this if things feel sluggish. |
| Restart R Session | Completely restarts the R engine. Clears all variables and loaded packages, but preserves editor code and saved files. |
| Clear R Environment | Removes all variables from .GlobalEnv without restarting R. Quicker than a full restart for a clean slate. |
If the app feels slow, try garbage collection first. If that does not help, restart the R session.
Help & Resources
Onboarding, keyboard shortcuts, iCloud sync, and links to external R and webR documentation.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Show Tutorial | Replays the onboarding walkthrough that you saw when you first opened the app. |
| Keyboard Shortcuts | A reference card showing all available gestures and keyboard shortcuts for the Editor, Console, Environment, Files, and Plots tabs. Especially useful if you connect a hardware keyboard to your iPad. |
| iCloud Sync | Settings for syncing your files and packages across devices. |
| External Resources | Links to the official webR documentation, the R Project website, and the webR package repository at repo.r-wasm.org. |
About
Version numbers, legal documents, credits, and open-source licenses.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| App Version / Build | App version and build number. |
| webR Version | The webR framework version bundled with the app. |
| R Version | The version of R running (e.g., R 4.4.1). |
| Legal | Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Apple EULA. |
| Credits | Acknowledgements for the people and projects behind the app. |
| Licenses | Open source licenses for webR, R, and other bundled technologies. |
Support
Diagnostic tools and a feedback form for reporting bugs or suggesting features. To report a problem: enable Detailed Logging, reproduce the issue, then tap Send Feedback to submit a report with logs attached.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Detailed Logging | Captures extra diagnostic information in error logs. Turn this on before reproducing an issue. |
| Send Feedback | Opens a form where you pick a type (Bug Report, Feature Request, Question, or Other) and describe the issue. |
| Startup Log | What happened during the most recent app launch. Useful for diagnosing slow startup. |
| Error Log | Captured errors that you can view and share when reporting issues. |
Reset All Settings
At the very bottom of Settings, there is a Reset All Settings button that restores every setting to its default value. This does not delete your files or remove installed packages; it only resets preferences like theme, font sizes, and toggles. You will get a confirmation prompt before anything happens.